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Armchair

A work made of walnut and cut velvet upholstery.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of walnut and cut velvet upholstery.

Date:

1876

Artist:

Luigi Frullini
Italian, 1839–1897
Florence, Italy

About this artwork

Luigi Frullini was the son of a woodcarver under whom he learned his craft. The talented Frullini was especially skilled at depicting the beauty of nature. He was equally gifted at rendering children, as we can see in his sensitive portrayal of infants on each arm of this chair.

Frullini showed his work at many of the international exhibitions that took place in Europe and the United States in the second half of the 19th century. These fairs were crucial in disseminating the latest styles to potential clients and retailers, as well as the general public. After exhibiting works and winning two prizes at the National Exposition in Florence in 1861, Frullini went on to participate in a succession of international fairs in Dublin, London, Paris, Philadelphia, Turin, and Vienna. From 1870 to 1890 his workshop expanded to accommodate the commissions that poured in from both sides of the Atlantic.

This massive armchair, with a putto (a chubby infant) on each arm, is carved L FRULLINI FIRENZE 1876. While Frullini himself most likely carved only the putti, the rest of the chair’s decoration testifies to the consistency and skill of his studio carvers. The virtuosic form and carving of the Renaissance-inspired ornament would have appealed to affluent patrons wishing to emulate the nobility of an earlier, more opulent age.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Artist

Luigi Frullini

Title

Armchair

Place

Florence (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1876

Medium

Walnut and cut velvet upholstery

Dimensions

88.9 × 94 × 94.7 cm (35 × 37 × 37 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Through prior gifts of Emily Crane Chadbourne, Edna Olive Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Regenstein, Sr., and Mrs. Gustavus F. Swift, Jr.; purchased with funds provided by Kenilworth Garden Club and Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Southworth; Richard T. Crane, Jr., Endowment; European Decorative Arts Purchase Fund

Reference Number

1986.1002

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/144675/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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